Laurent Blanc axed by struggling Lyon: source

Laurent Blanc has been sacked as coach of Ligue 1's bottom side Lyon, a source close to Blanc told AFP on Monday.

After finishing third last season, Lyon have started the new campaign with three defeats and a draw, leaving them propping up the table.

Blanc, who won the 1998 World Cup as a player and was in charge of the national team between 2010 and 2012, replaced Dutchman Peter Bosz in October 2022 and still had a year on his contract.

Sports daily L'Equipe has been floating for several days that Lyon are looking for a successor ahead of the next round of Ligue 1 matches, when they host promoted Le Havre on Sunday.

The team will be prepared by one of Blanc's assistants, Jean-Francois Vulliez, while Lyon's new American owner John Textor hunts for a successor.

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Former Italian international midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, who has been out of work since leaving Valencia at the start of the year, and Oliver Glasner who left Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of last season, have both been linked with the job.

Former Senegal international Habib Beye, who is currently in charge at Paris-based third-tier club Red Star, is also believed to be in the frame.